posted at 10:43 pm on November 29, 2011 by Allahpundit

“Those calls come in addition to the conference call his campaign held Tuesday morning, on which Cain told a large group of listeners that he is ‘reassessing’ his plans for the 2012 campaign.”

***

“As you probably heard yesterday, a troubled Atlanta business woman used national media outlets to promulgate a fabricated, unsubstantiated story about a 13 year affair with me. I am writing you today to assure you that this woman’s story is completely false…

“[N]ow I am asking for your friendship. I am also asking for your prayers and support. This is a trying time for my family, my campaign, and for me. It is also a trying time for our country as we are all distracted from the truly important issues facing our nation.

“This evening I have an important speaking engagement at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, where I will be outlining my foreign policy and national security plan. While recent events have taken a toll on me, the people in the audience this evening will not know it. I will deliver my message with vigor and enthusiasm.

“A growing number of prominent conservatives are abandoning Herman Cain, saying a Georgia woman’s claim that she had a 13-year affair with the Republican candidate has effectively doomed his presidential bid…

“‘The allegation is one that could upend his presidential campaign,’ Huckabee said in a Fox News interview. ‘Unlike the harassment charges, which he denied, he said this was a private answer. In essence, he may have given an answer that will be very difficult for him to work himself out of.’

“Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham – who initially called the disclosure that Cain had been accused of harassment an attempt to ‘put this man in … the back of the bus’ – said on Fox Tuesday that the 2012 race had ‘passed him by.’

“‘The campaign seems to have passed Herman Cain by, right? He’s slipped precipitously in pretty much every poll,’ Ingraham said, adding that Cain ‘never really set up the kind of organization’ needed to win the Republican presidential nomination.”

***

“The latest twist in the Herman Cain campaign saga is an abrupt cancellation of a private New York City dinner with some high-profile members of the media, according to a report by NY1.

“The network reported that the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO now running for the Republican nomination for President was supposed to meet with guests, including Barbara Walters, Matt Lauer, Bill O’Reilly, Lesley Stahl, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Greta Van Susteren at the Park Avenue apartment of New York Post columnist Cindy Adams this Sunday…

“Political analyst Hank Sheinkopf said it doesn’t even matter if the allegations are true or false because they have become a distraction that Cain cannot overcome.

“‘It makes it impossible for him to continue because the only thing he can answer is the allegations. He can’t talk about national policy. He can’t talk about his plans, the only thing he can talk about is sex,’ Sheinkopf told CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer.”

***

“Newt Gingrich stands to benefit if Herman Cain were to withdraw or lose support in the Republican presidential race, according to a Public Policy Poll released on Tuesday.

“Gingrich is also the consensus second choice among Cain voters, with 37 percent saying Gingrich would be their back-up to Cain, compared to 14 percent for Michele Bachmann, 13 percent for Romney, and 12 percent for Rick Perry.”

***

“Mr. Cain: you do NOT run for President in these times unless you are serious about it. It’s flat-out apparent now that you aren’t, weren’t, and never will be. A serious candidate would have released all the dirt on himself before any of it dripped-dripped-dripped out.

“But hey, you never thought that your con to sell your books would actually spark, did you? You never thought that good, decent, hard-working American people would actually believe what you said. Now here you are, trapped like a lying fly in amber, hoping to get the big brass ring without any other dirt coming out on you.

“All you are doing is playing your friends, your supporters, and some of my very good friends for your own fame and glory. And drinking parties. Yes – you drink like a fish, you flirt all over the place, and everyone who’s attended CPAC knows it. Nothing wrong with partying. Unless you lie about it. And try to deceive the public about it. If you want to be the American-Tea-Party Berlusconi, then be up front about it, don’t be a damned coward.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.”

***

“Lori Klein, an Arizona state Senator and Cain’s Arizona state chairman, told CBS News she stands by Cain.

“Klein suggested that if Cain is innocent he should sue White for libel and went on to attack the media for digging up the allegations. She also said that in politics, ‘we want a virgin to do a hooker’s job.’”

Blowback

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Some of you harp on Cain’s inability to answer questions – look at Obama NOW – 3+ years into the job – he can’t answer questions or give speeches (without the teleprompter) without sounding stupid or saying something that rivals Biden’s gaffes.

jackal40 on November 30, 2011 at 9:13 AM

I am aiming higher than Obama, Biden, or Bill Clinton–I do not want to choose my candidate based on the “Well, Bill Clinton did it” standard. I would probably like Mr. Cain as a person, but I would find him more compelling as a candidate if he firmly outlined his principles and then applied them to each of the questions. He’d need less “clarification” that way.

Honda…
You cannot have a Clearance, which Cain would have as POTUS, and be at risk to be blackmailed. That is one of the reasons that Clinton needed to go because our elected leaders and those with clearances need to be free of these type of incidents that can threaten national security.

So when people mention affairs do not matter…well, no, if it is Joe Dirt, but if it is en elected official especially on a national level then he needs to have all the skeletons out of the closet. :o)

My frustration reached a peak during the Obama campaign when his supporters and the media had no interest in discussing or vetting his past. That’s fine, I understand that. A specific campaign tactic that Team Obama used was to have the door knockers avoid talking about issues at all and instead focus on two things: talk about how exciting it is to support Obama, and talk about how the other side is racist. Whenever issues were asked about, the pollsters and staffers were instructed to void the issue and talk about how historic this opportunity is and how everything “feels” about it. Honestly, it worked. So, I’m going to take that tactic with my liberal friends on this topic, or any other negative attack on the GOP. Let’s have some fun, here’s an example of how I will be responding to liberal Cain haters:

Forget about that. He is a charismatic man that has proven experience turning not one but two businesses around. Listen to his speeches, listen to how he connects with the people. Everyone that listens to him for the first time comes away thinking “man, he’s really got something.” He can bring a new attitude to Washington and help us get past the old way of doing business. He’s different. He brings a new perspective that I think can change the way Washington does business. We need change right now, no matter what anyone says Washington has not changed, it is still full of cronyism and big money influences.

You keep saying the word “racist” with no real evidence to back it up. Astonerii may be as close to insufferable as anyone on HA, but to assume his opposition to Cain is based on race is not supported by anything he has said, that I can see. You appear to be making enormous assumptions, then using the leftist tactic of name-calling to silence astonerii. Unless you can come up with solid evidence that astonerii’s views are race-based, not only are you out of line, but you risk fitting Jung’s observation, “Projections change the world into the replica of one’s unknown face.”

DrMagnolias on November 30, 2011 at 8:05 AM

Except for asteronii’s strange view that white women with histories of lying, libeling, and slandering others for personal gain are people of character and should be believed in all cases, while black men are always liars, always cheats, and cannot be left alone with white women because they will rape/sexually assault them.

Asteronii’s views mirror those of fringe “Christian” churches that teach that black skin is the mark of the descendants of the Biblical Cain (Adam’s son) and Ham (Noah’s son), both of whom sinned and on whom God placed a “mark”, or curse, because of their actions.

Except for asteronii’s strange view that white women with histories of lying, libeling, and slandering others for personal gain are people of character and should be believed in all cases, while black men are always liars, always cheats, and cannot be left alone with white women because they will rape/sexually assault them.

northdallasthirty on November 30, 2011 at 12:24 PM

Please direct me to these statements, or statements that can be legitimately construed to support this assertion.

But of course you’re not, because you’re very obviously taking anything a white woman says at face value while insisting that anything a black man says is automatically a lie.

That’s not being “discerning”. It’s being a racist.

northdallasthirty on November 30, 2011 at 12:33 AM

Ok, a “white woman” says she had an affair with Cain.

Cain comes out publicly to give a non-denial denial that says he won’t talk about it, it’s private, whatever happened is a family matter, and don’t ask him.

Then he finds out that this doesn’t really work, and starts giving different answers.

You expect me to trust Cain’s variety of answers to the questions as the truth? Why? Oh yes, because he’s black and if I don’t trust his current answer (even ignoring his previous answers if necessary) I must be racist.

If he were white I could distrust him for giving an answer that basically said “Yeah, she was my mistress; but that’s not fair game to discuss so drop it”; but since he’s black I cannot.

Because that would be racist. Only by treating people of different colors differently and holding them to different standards can I be non-racist.

I dream of a day when we will judge a man based on the content of his character and not the color of his skin; but that’s just because I’m racist. I should dream of the day when a man’s skin color counts for everything?

Go look at Cain’s first response on this:

Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults – a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public’s right to know and the media’s right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one’s bedroom door.

Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media.”

Shtupping around on your wife for a decade shouldn’t be a matter for determining if you have the character and family values for office? And if you think it should be you’re racist?

Try again; this argument needs something more than RAAACCIISSM!!! to be persuasive.

Cain’s first answer was basically “cheating on your wife isn’t that bad, it isn’t something that should matter in a Presidential race, it’s a private matter, and I refuse to discuss it”.

I disagree; I think character matters, and I think a pattern of cheating on your wife for over a decade does say something about character, trustworthiness, and decency… which I’d like to see in a President.

What what do I know, I’m clearly just racist, right?

Can you explain again how holding everyone to the same standards is racist; but holding black people to weaker standards based solely on skin color is appropriate?

I have not been on the Cain train, but I have to say: We convict our candidates pretty quickly. GaltBlvnAtty on November 29, 2011 at 10:53 PM

Oh please, the Cain candidacy had proved that Republicans are not much different than Democrats when it comes to denying the obvious. She has 61 phone calls to and from him on her cell phone and he’s sent her money. At what point do you get a clue?

Basilsbest on November 29, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Again, I am not defending Cain and he is not my candidate.
A couple of points:
First, Obama is the ultimate opponent here, and we know that Obama has a record of bringing down his opposition on personal issues. That alone makes me not want to rush to convict people on our team.
Second, look at the facts you chose to comment on:
“She has 61 phone calls to and from him . . . .” Are those 60 from her to him, and 1 from him to her? Or, does that add up to 122 calls? We don’t really know much about those calls. And “he’s sent her money.” I’m not ready to convict everyone who has given money to someone else.
Cain may have done what she almost says he did, and proof could come out quickly if he did.

GaltBlvnAtty on November 29, 2011 at 11:50 PM

For what it’s worth, Rush just made the same point about the “61″ phone calls.

For all of you that beleive this womans claims.http://spoofphonenumber.com/
Could he have had an affair with her sure, but did he?
you dont know and its very easy to fake calls txt and other things.
I bet there is an AP for that.http://spoofapp.com/
so before you sheeple go out and lynch Mr C have all the facts.

SpoofApp’s Caller ID Spoofing allows you to change what the person you’re calling sees on the Caller ID display. With SpoofApp your privacy is protected, and you can be anyone you want to. SpoofApp is the #1 way to protect your privacy on the phone.

Cain was never qualified to begin with. POTUS is not the place for on-the-job training and Obama is a great example of why. Another reason for winning state-wide office first is exactly the kind of vetting that Cain is going through now.

He didn’t handle these allegations well because he can’t stand there an flat out say that he didn’t do it, he has to go with the lawyerly “don’t really say anything but imply it’s not true” thing. He changed his sexual harrassment story 5 times in 3 days. Now he has his lawyer saying one thing while he says another.